Last week I spent some time in an elementary school coaching students on reciting poems they’d memorized to be presented at a christmas concert. I’ve explained lots of metaphors about snow, the cold, and discussed how to present emotion. Eventually it always got through; kids are fast learners. There are things they’ve not thought of yet though: they’re not aware of how they appear to other people, and an emotional performance of this sort of work requires some coaching.

I get to go back this week to see if the work paid off, or if I’ll have to go over it all again. New sorts of work gives us new sorts of insights into the world. I’m happy that these kids are giving me their time to help me learn more about poetry.

Sometimes Sundays are mostly about being cold, tired, and trying to warm up. You eventually find a cup of coffee (after three cups of tea) which does the trick, even if the caffeine makes your extremities feel a little bit chilled. Reading a poem aloud to a friend is useful because you are reenacting the communication process of the poet writing to the reader. You translate the poem into a work of theatre through the process of recital. If there’s no one around, try reading a poem aloud. Communicate it to yourself. The more layers of interpretations you can provide to a work, the more interesting it will be to pull apart. As always, I’m here if you need to talk.

playing it safe

i)

i’m 21 and it’s a good day of the week.

i like when i’m listening to an albumand it gets to a bit where there’s complete silence.

i made carol a tape of trackswhich are almost completely silentfrom music i like.

she thanks me for the christmas presentbut tells me she doesn’t have a tape deck“it’s 2015 stupid;it’s 2015 stupid.”